Vegetarian – Page 37 – The Food Wife

Sweet Pepper Sauce

27th October 201830th October 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 4-6

Often in supermarkets youâ€™ll find bumper bags of peppers, which are smaller or misshapen and so are sold in bulk at a much cheaper price. Usually there will be a plethora of green peppers in these bags, but the other day I found ones that were full of red and yellow peppers. I knew exactly what I was going to do with them; make a versatile sweet pepper sauce that would be the perfect accompaniment to pasta, or lamb, or a firm white fish.

Here is the recipe; it can be scaled up or down as necessary and it can be portioned up and frozen. We had it stirred through pasta and adorned with pieces of soft goats cheese and fresh basil. It was really delicious. Iâ€™m looking forward to the next time I find such a bag, as Iâ€™ll definitely be making this again!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
Approx. 700g peppers, halved, deseeded, cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp sweet paprika
3 tomatoes, cut into small dice
1 tin of tomatoes, chopped
A pinch of sugar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Step 1: Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2: Next add the peppers and continue to cook and stir for 20 minutes.

Step 3: Stir through the garlic, herbs and spices and cook for a further five minutes.

Step 4: Add both types of tomatoes, along with the vinegar, sugar and seasoning and cook for 10 more minutes.

Carrot and Cumin Soup

15th October 201830th October 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 3-4

This is a low calorie, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan soup and itâ€™s delicious. Naturally sweet, gently spiced and perfectly warming for an autumn or winter lunch.

Itâ€™s quick to prepare and then cooks with little interference so why not make up a bigger batch and freeze for a quick and easy lunch!

Ingredients:
Oil
1 white onion or 4 shallots, roughly chopped
500g (about 4 decent sized) carrots, peeled, topped and tailed and cut into 1/2 cm rounds
2 tsp ground cumin
1 litre vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Nigella seeds (optional)

Step 1: Heat a little oil (I used a few spritz of a spray oil) in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and add the diced onion or shallot. Cook for a few minutes until softened but not browned.

Step 2: Add the carrot and stir, along with the cumin. Cook gently for a couple of minutes to begin to toast the spice and then add the stock. Cover with a lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the carrots are soft.

Step 3: Carefully blitz the soup (I used a stick blender) and then season to taste. If you like, serve with a sprinkling of nigella seeds over the top of the soup.

This soup freezes well and can be defrosted over night in the fridge and then reheated. If you are not keeping this dairy-free and/or low calorie you could add some single or double cream to make it a richer, more luxurious treat. Serve with some crusty bread (gluten-free if required).

(Instant Pot) Vegetable Pasta Bake

26th September 201826th September 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 2

Iâ€™ve called this an Instant Pot pasta bake, but steps 1-3 can always be done on the hob over a medium heat. Simply make the sauce separately to the pasta (omit the 160ml of water and large pinch of salt from the sauce) and once you have boiled the pasta in salted water (following the cooking guidelines on the packet), stir through and then continue with step 4.

Iâ€™m a big fan of cooking pasta in the Instant Pot though. I love being able to cook the pasta in the sauce which helps swell the pasta with all its deliciousness. It also means Iâ€™ve used only one dish; saves on the washing up!

I included roasted butternut squash in this but it isnâ€™t obligatory. I had peeled and diced (into 1cm cubes) a whole butternut squash, tossed in four cloves of crushed garlic and a tablespoon of rapeseed oil and roasted it at 200c for 35-40 minutes. I was saving half for a pasta salad and used half here.

You could leave out the â€˜bakeâ€™ element all together and simple have this as a vegetable pasta dish. Leave out the cheese topping and this is vegan. If you are making this gluten-free you will need to use a suitable pasta.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
2 red onions, peeled, halved and sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into half-inch pieces
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
10 basil leaves, torn
150g pasta (gluten-free if required)
500g passata
160ml water
Large pinch of salt
150g frozen peas
1/2 butternut squash, roasted (see above) (optional)
50g grated cheese (optional – leave out or use a suitable replacement if making this dairy-free or vegan)

Step 1: Set the Instant Pot to sautÃ© mode and add the oil and sliced onions. Cook the onions for five minutes until softened, stirring frequently.

Step 2: Add the diced pepper and continue to cook for another five minutes.

Step 3: Add the vinegar, salt, passata and water, along with the torn basil and pasta. Stir well and then replace the lid, ensure the valve is set to sealing and programme it manually to cook on high pressure for four minutes. Once cooked, manually depress by opening the valve with a tea towel and wooden spoon.

Step 4: Stir in the frozen peas, and roasted squash (if using), season to taste and then transfer all of the pasta into an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle over the grated cheese (if using) and put in a preheated oven (180c) for twenty minutes until the cheese is golden.

BLW Mini Baked Omelettes

24th September 201824th September 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 6

These are protein packed and great for breakfast, lunch or dinner for your little one. You can change the filling (here Iâ€™ve used tomato and cheese) but always keep the same quantity of egg to make six. You can always scale up; use four eggs to make 12 omelettes and increase any additional ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 large eggs, beaten
Splash of full fat milk
1/2 tsp paprika
30g grated cheese
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 medium/3 small tomatoes (about 60g in total), finely chopped

Step 1: Mix together all of the ingredients in a jug.

Step 2: Oil six holes of a muffin tray (I drop a little vegetable oil into each one and then run my finger around until coated).

Step 3: Pour equal amounts of your egg mixture into each of the six oiled muffin holes.

Step 4: Bake in a preheated oven (200c) for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Store in the fridge or freezer.

Chocolate Orange Tiffin

20th September 201820th September 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes approximately 15 slices

This is a no-bake refrigerator cake, which has a fruity crumbly base and a rich chocolate top. Each piece is decorated with a segment of chocolate orange which gives the cake itâ€™s dominant flavour, I also added some chocolate honeycomb sprinkles, but these arenâ€™t obligatory.

You can use either digestive or rich tea biscuits (I used rich tea as I prefer them) and you can use your favourite dried fruit (I went for a mix or berries, cherries and sultanas).

I used a square cake pan, lined with greaseproof paper to set these in the fridge but itâ€™s worth slicing these into pieces before they are fully set, otherwise itâ€™ll be tricky to cut through the chocolate top.

Ingredients:
100g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp cocoa powder
200g crushed biscuits (digestive or rich tea)
100g dried fruit
200g dark chocolate
Milk chocolate orange, broken into segments
Honeycomb chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Step 1: Place a heavy-bottomed pan on a low heat and melt together the butter, syrup and cocoa.

Step 2: Stir in the crushed biscuits (you want a mix of finely crushed to a powder and some more chunky bits) and dried fruit and then press into a lined square tin. Cover and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes or so to firm up.

Step 3: Melt the dark chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (ensure the base of the bowl does not come into contact with the water).

Step 4: Remove the biscuit base from the fridge and carefully spread the molten chocolate over the top to make an even layer.

Step 5: Gently press the chocolate orange segments into the chocolate (my tin used 15 segments – 5×3). If using, next lightly sprinkle the chocolate honeycomb over the top. Cover and return to the fridge for another 20 minutes.

Step 6: Remove the tin again and carefully slice the tiffin so there is one segment of chocolate orange per piece. Re-cover and return to the fridge until fully set.